'Shamitabh', starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Haasan, collects only Rs 12.5 crore in its opening weekend at the box office, word-of-mouth buzz falls on deaf ears

Sky high expectations and lack of competition at the box office notwithstanding, R Balki's 'Shamitabh' has had a disappointing start. In its opening weekend, the Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush starrer has managed to rake in just about Rs 12.5 crore.

Exhibitor Rajesh Thadani says, "The numbers are far below expectations. The film took a slow start on Friday but the footfalls went up slightly over the weekend. The promos were so confusing that the audience didn't really understand the film."

Trade analyst Amod Mehra says: "The film's failure at the box office has shocked the industry. Though the film opened to low collections, it was expected that the figures would gradually jump.


"Saturday was marginally better than Friday and Sunday was just about decent. Now, it seems quite obvious that the film has failed to excite the audience." While releases over the last two weeks have failed to pull crowds to the theatres, Neeraj Pandey's 'Baby' starring Akshay Kumar has been going steady. "It collected about Rs 4 crore in the last weekend and overall, has grossed Rs 74 crore.

This Friday, we have 'Roy', which is completely a multiplex film, and 'MSG: The Messenger of God', which looks like a single screen film and will draw audience in the northern part of the country," avers Thadani.

Last weekend's top 3

Rs 2.5 crore
'Shamitabh' (opening weekend)

Rs 4 crore
'Baby' (total Rs 74 crore approx)

Rs 1 crore
'Khamoshiyan' (total Rs 12 crore approx)